House nears delayed vote on Superstorm Sandy aid

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., left, confers with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., center, as the House Rules Committee sorts through dozens of amendments on an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy that devastated parts of the Northeast coast in October, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., left, confers with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., center, as the House Rules Committee sorts through dozens of amendments on an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy that devastated parts of the Northeast coast in October, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., leaves the House Rules Committee after making his case to the House Rules Committee for an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at the Capitol in Washington. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)— AP

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., leaves the House Rules Committee after making his case to the House Rules Committee for an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at the Capitol in Washington. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., speaks to reporters after appearing before the House Rules Committee to work on an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at the Capitol in Washington. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)— AP

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., speaks to reporters after appearing before the House Rules Committee to work on an aid package to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at the Capitol in Washington. The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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A home that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy is demolished in the Staten Island borough of New York, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Several Staten Island homes damaged beyond repair by Superstorm Sandy are being demolished. The first city-facilitated demolitions started Monday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)— AP

A home that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy is demolished in the Staten Island borough of New York, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Several Staten Island homes damaged beyond repair by Superstorm Sandy are being demolished. The first city-facilitated demolitions started Monday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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WASHINGTON 
Supporters of $50.7 billion in relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy won a pair of crucial test votes in the House and pushed toward passage Tuesday night as Republican leaders struggled to close out an episode that exposed painful party divisions inside Congress and out.

More than 10 weeks after the storm brutalized parts of the heavily populated Northeast, officials said that barring additional changes, the Senate was likely to accept the House measure early next week and send it to President Barack Obama for his signature.

"We are not crying wolf here," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., one of a group of Northeastern lawmakers from both parties who sought House passage of legislation roughly in line with what the Obama administration and governors of the affected states have sought.

Democrats were more politically pointed as they brushed back Southern conservatives who sought either to reduce the measure or offset part of its cost through spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

"I just plead with my colleagues not to have a double standard," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York. "Not to vote tornado relief to Alabama, to Louisiana, to Mississippi, Missouri, to - with Ike, Gustav, Katrina, Rita - but when it comes to the Northeast, with the second worst storm in the history of our country, to delay, delay, delay."

One key vote came on an attempt by Rep. Rodney Freylinghuysen to add $33.7 billion to an original allotment of $17 billion in aid. The vote was 228-192 and included heavy Democratic support.

Earlier, conservatives failed in an attempt to offset a part of the bill's cost with across-the-board federal budget cuts. The vote was 258-162.

Rep. Mark Mulvaney, R-S.C., arguing for the reduction, said he wasn't trying to torpedo the aid package, only to pay for it. "Are there no savings, are there no reductions we can put in place this year so these folks can get their money?" he asked plaintively.

Critics said the proposed cuts would crimp Pentagon spending as well as domestic accounts and said the aid should be approved without reductions elsewhere. "There are times when a disaster simply goes beyond our ability to budget. Hurricane Sandy is one of those times," said Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Sandy roared through several states in late October and has been blamed for 140 deaths and billions of dollars in residential and business property damage, much of it in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It led to power outages and interruptions to public transportation that made life miserable for millions, and the clamor for federal relief began almost immediately.

The emerging House measure includes about $16 billion to repair transit systems in New York and New Jersey and a similar amount for housing and other needs in the affected area. An additional $5.4 billion would go to the Federal Emergency and Management Agency for disaster relief, and $2 billion is ticketed for restoration of highways damaged or destroyed in the storm.